Now that the Knitty.com submission is out of the way, I've been able to spend some quality time with Ava's Smock Coat. (The name "Smock Coat" isn't very inspiring now is it, Debbie Bliss?) Here's a picture or two of the progress made.
Two sleeves and most of the left front...
Miles and miles and miles of Seed Stitch...
Now this may not look like alot of knitting, but I assure you it is. Its done all in seed stitch on size 4 needles. But of course you switch to size three's later on in the pattern! I've found it very time consuming as well as a bit boring. But now that I can kind of see the thing take shape I've found renewed interest. I really really want to get it done fast. Im tired of seed stitch! Also I desperately want to see little Ava in her cute red coat. I'm thinking about giving myself a bit of a deadline. I know it is strange how I torture myself with knitting but I do well with deadlines. For instance, I knit all the samples, took and edited the pictures and wrote the pattern for Knitty.com in a little over a week. When I set my mind to something, I can get it done.
So, for Smock Coat, I'm saying February 1st. It's not so crazy that I will have to stay up all night every night until that time, but it is a little push to keep me on track.
Also, I still have the worst project ever on the needles right now. It's a stand mixer cover I'm knitting for a customer. Its 222 stitches per round made out of *gasp* Red Heart Acrylic. oops, I think I just threw up a little. It is by no stretch of the imagination fun to work on. I'm making myself knit 2 rounds per day to get it finished. That's what happens when knitting is your job. It's not always fun!